 lthough he served only a little over
three years as president of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas (1879-1883) and would eventually resign in
frustration, John Garland James played a major role in setting the
course of the school would follow for decades to come. After
the failure of Thomas Gathright's presidency and removal of almost
the entire faculty in 1879 (Texas Aggie, June 1995), the
Texas A&M board appointed James to bring order out of
chaos. He was hired to lead the school back to the ideals of
practical public education under which it had been established—the Morrill Land-Grant Act
schools."
James was born on a plantation in Chatham,
Fluvanna County, Virginia on December 1, 1844. He graduated
from Virginia Military Institute in 1866, having survived the
tumultuous years of the Civil War. VMI's Corps of Cadets
participated in the fighting and James was a veteran of the May
11, 1864 battle of Newmarket. After graduation he taught
chemistry and mathematics briefly at Kentucky Military
Institute. In 1867 he came to Texas to serve as head of
Bastrop Academy, which changed its name to the Texas Military
Institute (TMI) in 1869 and moved to Austin in 1870. It is
interesting to note and perhaps indicative of his abilities that
during his tenure at TMI, James was appointed by the Secretary of
the Navy to the board of visitors
of the United States Naval Academy. He had a well-earned
reputation as an author/scholar and at the time was considered the
very model of a gentleman of the "old school." He
remained at TMI until becoming president of the fledgling A&M
College of Texas on December 1, 1879.
Unlike the ill-fated Gathright, James hired his
own faculty rather than having them appointed solely by the
board.
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James was an honest and hard working administrator
with impeccable credentials who worked diligently to make the
little college a success.
With a united faculty, James quickly set about
redesigning the academic focus of the college. He created
new courses in agriculture and mechanics and found that changing
the curriculum was much easier than overseeing other day-to-day
operations of the school. During his administration the school
endured epidemics that claimed the lives of both students and
faculty. Enrollment fell sharply and he endured unwarranted
criticism from the state's newspapers. The major obstacle he
inherited, however, was the woefully inadequate appropriations
from the legislature. without proper funding the school had
no hope of continuing, let alone moving ahead.
In 1883, he was worn down by the struggle to
keep the doors of Texas A&M open and resigned to pursue
business and banking opportunities with his brother. By
resigning, he achieved what he could not do as president.
His resignation underscored the college's pitiful funding.
If a man with James' reputation could not succeed without
financial support, then no one could save the school. The
lesson was not lost on the political leaders of Texas and the next
session in Austin saw a substantial increase in funding.
After a long and successful business career,
James died February 11, 1930 and was buried in Austin's Oakwood Cemetery.
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